Electrical connector arrangements



May 24, 1960 J. H. KREHBIEL ELECTRICAL CCNNECToR ARRANGEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 30, 1955 /f/ ff, 60a

May 24, 1960 J. H. KREHBIEL ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ARRANGEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 50, 1955 n .0 0 J f /f j f v A d. v 5 6 j J7 ya States sur,

2,938,190 raronged May 2g, 1960 ICC EL. n `2 r shows'erlyrality ,of tho oonraot members .0? Sll'P'fOIlll .they may bio Supplied to the ,2,9335199 tr'adeynd 1 r n *l e ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR ARRANGEMENTS 5 shfiur 7 fi'zsi@ View ofthe holdmg chl lJohJH-lrghhl, partnersGrogoJll-,agslghor@Maler A otilsd *l.Hill1elf1oht Still follow- "P odhts 'Cou Brookfield, i111-, a @Partnership Acousis'traga sar; go, .1o-.sesamo .537,821 8 laima- @1&39476) mahirrgline connections ,hither with for .without a l'paril mounting, ,for aplhr'ahry of .,oir'oirs, including rhoarro .forgiiolarizing.thogplugahtl 1roooalalolo so thafthoy ,call

hirouitarraugfemeht .hothor 'object @of ,the .invention yis Vtho provisiol `=of `identical parts .for the Plug .and rho .roooptgolo ,.whlohmay .be stamped lout 'in progressive dies from metal stockfthe thickness, temper ghdfooirdllotirity of\,w hi.oh.-ognbo--variodfro,accommodate rlilorontolootrc. llo @arri/ing oarlaoitios. f

Arr .,irrlgortaht ff myro fis that the ooiltaot .members can `be insertedimthemolded insulating rbody from the roar thereof Vby 1a .Slight relish :which alltorrlalioally, hut fromovahly,l,oo1lss vthe :,cohtaot members sin Plage# Without .themed forgriy ,-exirahoorls. faslorling .moans Y.or-.dismantling and roassorrihlihgf the ihslllatngmolhbers- .another object is -rherir-.oyision Aof a spring oo nl-aol member, for both `.the-plr1ganrl receptacle, -whioh i.s heilt hack furgoni itsolfinfsomowhati bow form with f1-Ill end thus providing both a iirm mechanialonnection :and goodoeleotrical ioonductivity fwhile facilitating-,ap- `:plicationof the plllgitotheyreceptale. v l *Still ;a furtherrobjectis theprovisionfohanfimproved clipwhich .may beeused either for holding theplugand receptacle together in ,1a Aline Y assembly-without .21, panel I:mounting or Yforfholdingone of the parts, such as.` the receptacle, Ato afpanel andzby which' the receptaclemay rbe lreadily-.mounted.thereon or` removed therefrom.

4Theoloregoing androther. objects andadvantages will =be apparentjfrom the `llfollowing description, taken'. 1to- -getherrwith-theaccompanying drawings, of anfillus- \trativeembodiment of* the invention, and `in-whichldraw 'mgsy '1r-'Figure g1 Aisa side Yelevational viewof the-receptacle a'nd`-plug` in position-to be Vunited for electrical connec- ^-tion'purposes;

Figure 2 -isanenlarged:fragmentary axial sectional view ofthe; receptacleand plug assembly with vthe ,parts `rcolnnec'rtwed'and'lwith-thereceptacle clipped; to a panel, vbroken linesv showinghow the clip may be used-without fthe-panelto clamp-the-receptacle andplug-together Yas in aline-connection; l

TFigurel -is ajperspectiveview of thev receptaclewith- -.out the contact-membersythe' front or mating-face -of `:the receptacle being-turned toward -the observer;

-'Figure-4 shows Aanperspective view of the plug without -thecontact` members, the rear face of the plugfrbeing turned toward; the ,observer; "y,

L`1:"igure-'5 is a view on an enlarged 4scale,`ofone of fthe eontactgmembers'ready to'rhavea wire termnalinserted ntherein; i

et members of bothfthe mentary perspective view, on the "of thel contact members shown shown; l K n mo' ified arrangement employng the lcontact m r of Fig.l v9;

Figure 11 shows another modiedkarrangement; figure l2 shows r.a partial 'viewof a further modificationl of the contact-member,.on'th v,scale o f Figs. v5 ,and 9; figure l3illi1striates`,`fonl,aredueed scale, use ofthe cofnt'rct,member of Fig. 12; :and Figure Y114 shows a contactmember having characteristicvs'lo'f the Contact members Vof both Fig. `5` andy Fig. 12. .Referring in detailfto the illustrative construction shown the"drawings,` thelnumeral 11 indicatesa receptacle'fpart andf'the'nurne'ral 12"'21 plug partof an electrical lconnector `ernbodying the present invention.

VThe receptacle par-t `1 irrcludeszan insulating body 13 se bly ,mgigg adipeigetric y"initially plastic material to table-form, -for example ,as Shown Ain Pig 3, ,and the gvr rt 1.2, ,Similailvinolodos ian ihsolaringlhody 514; fo Siihilar-1matoiah molded to tho form oooh as' '..fgho '..roooplaolo ,body `1:3 .is provided with one or more hlldin this" ihslanoe :a plurality of through passageways 5., rothrrgular in. cross-Section, `in each ;of'; v'vhih, as bestfseen in Fig. 2, is a transverse internal rib 16, the

Aribs -1,6 being .on Vthe same side, vor, in this instance, the

.erallythereof. The vfront `or mating face 18 ofthe body 113 desirably has `an efnbossmentlS` centrallyv .thereof 17 open. A"Ifhe rear end 20 `of :the body tical dimension, with respect to the front end having the face 18, thus providing shoulders -ZI-atthe upper `endand 22'at the lowerend ofthe kbody 13. 'IThe-'upper yand lower surfacesy 23 of thebody 13` are here shown grooved as at 24 from front to rear' and at its front end groove-24 is intersected'lby .lateral notches 25, which together with .the groove open into thelfront face 18 of ltyhebody -13 aboveand below, respectively, theembossment 119. Wherethe body is vertically `enlarged at top and bottom as Iat 26, the latter has a peripheral cutout 27 opening into the groove `2'4- and notches 25. lThe shoulder `21- is alsonotchedV as at 28 on the rear face of theenlargement 2 6`on eachside ofthe .groove 24. f *'ljhe bodyl -4`may have ybeaclededges '29 at`itfs upper ,and lowerfends ofthe reduced portion Zomargining theface of the ;bodyjrinwhich kthegroove Lyfl'occu'rsf "f Thefplug body'ff14 also has onel or more and inthi-sinstoria@ phralityof rthrough passages 3.0 that aro adapted@ booriohtodlwith lthe passages 15 of the zroooptaoleyarid another passage 31 that is adapted to be oriented with the passage 17 of the receptacle. The passages 30 have transverse internal. ribs `32 similar tothe ribs 16ofl the*v body 13 bufdispos'ed, in Vthe body 14,'- nearer the front ends of the passages. VThe ribs 32 are on the sameside'of the passages 30 and in-this instanceon the lower side thereof.

13 .isi reduced, in `verlv "assaisohe passage 31 has a similar rib (not shown) laterally therein.

The body 14 has a rear end 33 that is reduced from vertical dimension so as tto provide a forward enlarged end 34 of-the body`14 with' a rearwardlyfacing shoulder 35 at top and bottomV of the'body'l-'LV i The' shoulders 35 are centrally notched as at 36. l .i '4

As best seen in Fig.r 5, each of `the donta'cti'members 37 for both the receptacle and the plu'g,is yformedffro'in a sheet metal stamping, of copper for example; having', a contact making end 38a and a vwire'receiving end 38b.

The contact makingend 38a has afiat portion 39 and a spring tongue portion 40 which is bent vbac'lt upon-the por- E- l being placed -under tension thereby but not sufliciently tion 39, iirst in a somewhat bowed portion 41 and then in an obliquelyoutwardly extending portion 42 constituting a free end for the spring tongue 40.v The wire receiving end of the contact member 37 includes pairs of longitudinally related flanges 43 and' 44, the pair of anges 43 being longer than thepair of'anges 44 and .being adapted to be bent around the'insulating jacket 45 of a wire cable 46, which, asis well known in the' art, isV cut away from around the stranded wire 47'of the cable to leaveA anl exposed wire terminal 48,that is passed between thepair of anges 44, after which the anges 44 are bent around the wire lterminal 48 and clinched thereon. l The flanges '44 are shown merging intoi'upt'urn'ed side edges 49"of the contact member 37 to serve `further'to retain the wire terminal 48 securely, connected to the contact" member. To

provide a stop lagainst whichrv the wire terminal 48 maybe brought into abutment -to limit insertion of the cable 46 into the wire receiving end 38h of the contact 'member 3,7, the latter has a lug'SO'S-truckf from tthe plate: 39thereof and bent up normally thereto,

'Ihe contact members 37 are advantageously formed in strip gangs or chains as shown in Figure 6 connected `by Webs 51 from which they maybe severed along lines S2 when desired for use, the webs 51 being cut off and discarded. The contact members may be stamped out in progressive dies from metallic sheet material, the stock thickness, temper and conductivity of which may be varied to suit different electrical load carrying capacities. The clip 54 shownV in Fig. 2 in two different uses, and

polarized so that also shown-in perspective in Fig.- 7,1includes a -baseSS running transversely of the clip and from which extends a ribbon-like strip 56 that is iirst in theplane of the base 55 and is then bent normally thereto as at 57 and thenfbent obliquelyback on itself as at 58, the termination of the portion 58 being in the form ofzan ogee or `Zcurve 59 that after providinga hump'60has a free end 60a extend-v .ing substantially in the same direction as the oblique portion 58.

Assembly .of the parts is as follows: After a cable 46 has had ite wire terminal 48 secured t a contact member 37 as previously described, a contact member is pressed into the passages 15 and 17 of the receptacle body 13, and 30 and 31 of the plug body A14, from the rear end of the passage, the contact member being inserted in the passage so that the bowed spring tongue 40 thereof confronts the rib 16 or 32 as the case may be. By further firmly pressing the contact member into the passage the spring tongue 40 rides over Athe rib and thefree end 42.0f the spring tongue snaps into abutment withthe rib.l At this time, the lug 50 of the contact member is in position to abut the rib on the opposite face thereof, the contact member being thus inhibited'from movement in'either direction in the insulating body; If removal be desired, a suitable tool, such as a screw driver may be inserted in the passage alongside the spring tongue 40 to press free end 42 of the latter away-from the rib and permit withdrawal ofthe contact member. In the case of the receptacle body 13, the length front to rear thereof and thelocation of the rib 16 in the passages is such that the spring tongue 40 of the terminal is completely enclosed by the body. In the case 0f the PUIS, the

body 14 thereof is shorter,

ing face 61 of the body 14 so that the contact members 37' carried by the plug part project outwardly from the latter a sufficient distance so that when the passages of the receptacle and the passages ofthe plug are oriented, the contact members of 4the plug may be pressed into the passag'esof the receptacle'until the contact members of both are mutually engaged by n l mentes. best seen in Fig. 2." In such engagement, the spring tongues 40 ofeach pair of engaging contact members are compressed to provide a firm mechanical securement and a good electrical connection, the spring tongues to dictate'overlapping of the interengaging contact members the passages of the plug are slightly offset vertically from the passages of the receptacle so that a bowed face ofo'ne contact member engages the plate face of the interengaging contact member. To facilitate and insure this relationshipl of the parts, the mating face 61 of the plug is recessed as at 61a to receive the embossment 19 of the mating face 18 of the receptacle by a slightlytelescoping action.

It will be understood that by reason of thedierently oriented passage 17 for the receptacle and the corresponding passage 31 of the plug, the plug and receptacle are they can be interengaged in only one way, the mating faces of the receptacle and plug being imagesl one or the other so to speak for this purpose. If desired the passages may be numbered as at 62' on the rear faces'of the plug and receptacle, each number to in'- dicate -a-circuit that may be-completed by a pair of cables 46 th'e contact members ofwhich are interengaged by the assembly as described.- In 'this instance, eight such circuits-are shown.

`It .itbef'desired to mount 'the receptacle body 13 on a panel, such as 63, for example, the panel may have an openingf64 therein of'just-sufiicient size so that the rear reduced-P end 20 of the receptacle may be passed therevthrough untill the upper and lower shoulders 21 and 22 of the body 13 abut the panel. In this movementone of the clips.54 ,is laid in the groove 24 with the base 55 of the clip in thenotches 25. As the body and clip are pushed together into the panel opening 64,' the spring portionA 58 of the :clip is sprung againstits inherent resilience until the edge of the opening 64passes .over thehump 60 of the clip. This may be done-.at top and bottom of the receptacle and thereupon thereceptacle is k.iirmly 'held to the panel until the spring vportion f 58 ofthe clip be depressed to permit the edge of the opening to pass in the opposite direction over the hump 60 to withdraw the clip and receptacle body. A A

Y Instead of mounting the receptacle on apanel itlmay be desired to make a line connection and in such case toulclamp the receptacle and plug together. For that purpose, the clip 54 may be used in the manner shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, at which time the base 55 of the clip is laid inthe notches 28 of the receptacle body with the remainder of the clip extending outwardly of the body toward the plug. When the receptacle and plug have been assembled to maketbe circuit connections the spring tongue 58 of the clip is then sprung over the shoulder 3S of the plug until the free end 60a Aof the i clip snaps into the notch 36 in the shoulder 35, thus retaining the parts together until the clip is sprung against its inherent resilience to separate the plug and receptacle.

u front to rear, and the ribs in thepassages thereof are located nearer the front or mat-j a sliding fr ictional engage- :angesagt-uo .r-Infsomeinstances it mayvbeldesiredfto; clamp'thefplug tothe receptacle even whenfthe latteris mountedaon a :paneltandzithat may be done byrthenuse of thezclipin :.both of `the waysjust describedLi-.effusing twozofthe ;-clips 54, oneasV shown in full lines inailg. 2 andthetother :aasY shown .in dottedlines, Fig. 2` s-Alsoztit willrbetunderstood that the clips would be usedrat top and bottom of the connector.

YIn the.-modificatiomshowminFigrt8;the prts.65:`and 65a correspond to the receptacle part 11 and the plug part 12 of the previous figures but in this modification may be substantially identical by reversing the facing direction of contact member 37 in the part 65a which corresponds to the plug part 12, that is by making the contact members 37 mutually engage on their bowed faces 41 as at 41a (Fig. 8). In this arrangement, the olfset of the plug part with respect to the receptacle part shown in Fig. 2 is avoided and the passageway 15a of part 65 and 30a of part 65a are not only oriented but also aligned, as seen in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9 shows a modied form of contact member 66 which has a nub or pimple 67 extruded on its bowed portion 66a and another aligned pimple 68 extruded on its fiat portion 66b, the use of this form of contact member being shown in Fig. 10 in which the pimple 67 on the bowed portion of the upper contact member snaps into the depression 69 formed by the pimple 68 on the flat portion of the lower contact member, as at 70, thus yieldingly locking the contact members together to prevent accidental separation.

Fig. 11 shows another modified arrangement in which the contact members 71 are bowed as at 72 on their portion corresponding to their at portion 39 in the previous figures, the arc of the bow extending inwardly of the member so as to provide an extremity or bearing prtion 72a 0n the Contact member 71 of reduced area that is placed somewhat under tension, by the bowed effect 72, when the contact members are mutually engaged and engaged in the receptacle member as shown in Fig. 10, thus enhancing their interengagement.

Fig. 12 shows a further modification in which the contact member 73, corresponding otherwise to the contact member 37, is formed with a pair of additional side flanges 74 disposed forwardly of the wire receiving ianges 43 and 44 previously described and between the contact making end and the wire receiving end of the contact member. These additional side flanges 74, by being left upstanding, serve as a substitute lug in place of the tab or lug 50 of `the previous figures. Enhanced strength for this lug formation thus provided is afforded by the flanges 74 which have their greater dimension in the direction of the force applied when the contact member is pushed into the receptacle or plug member, thus guarding against breakage or deformation of the lug when the in- .ternal rib 16 or 32 is engaged by the contact member to locate the latter in the dielectric body as previously decribed. This use of the flanges 74 as a stop lug limiting insertion of `the contact member 73 into the insulating body 11 for example is illustrated in Fig. 13.

Figure 14 shows a contact member 75 having both the stop lug formation provided 'by the anges 74 and also the stop lug formation provided by the tongue 50 of the previous figure, the latter being strengthened by the rib 50a formed therein. In the contact member 75 of Fig. 14, the stop lug provided by the struck-out tab 50 may limit insertion of the stranded (nor solid) wire entered into the wire receiving end of the contact member, while the `flanges 74 act as a stop lug formation limiting insertion of the contact member into the passageway 15 by abutment of the flanges 74 with the rib 16, as previously described. To this end, the tab 50 is flush with the edges 74a of the `flanges or wings 74.

Such changes may be made as fall within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the invention.

ried bys-saidparts respectively, said icontact rmembers be- 15 ing suhstantiallyidentical .for.both,partsand each comprising integrally .a plate portion and a reverse bentportion iandrai-wirereceivingportiorthrough passageways urn-embers respectively-from therear f 'ends of the "parts, each passageway having atransverse internal rib intermediately therein, said reverse bent portion of each contact member including a spring tongue arranged :to snap over said rib as the contact member is slid into the passageway to retain the contact member in position in the passageway, the contact members of theplug part projecting from the forward end of the plug part for entry into the passageways of the receptacle part.

2. The connector of claim 1 wherein each spring tongue is of bowed formation and terminates in an outwardly flaring free end for abutting said rib.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the plate portion of one contact member frictionally engages the spring l tongue of its nterengaging contact member.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein the passageways in the respective parts are oriented but not aligned whereby the plate portion of one nterengaging contact member frictionally engages the reverse bent portion of the other member. n

5. A contact member for an electrical connector having a contact making end and a wire receiving end, said contact making endcompn'sing a resilient metal stamping bent back upon itself at one end to provide a spring tongue, said spring tongue having an koutwardly bowed portion and an outwardly aring free end, said tongue being bowed for its entire length'exclusive of said free end, said wire receiving end comprising a plurality of pairs of flanges of unequal length, a pair of longer length being arranged to be wrapped -around the insulation of a wirevcable and a pair of smaller length for being crimped over the bared wire terminal, and a lug struck out from the material of the contact member between the contact making end and the wire receiving end thereof, said lug extending in the same direction as said flanges.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the lug formation is struck out from the center of the plate part and has its broader face extending transversely to the plate part.

7. A contact member for an electrical connector having a contact making end including a plate portion and a resilient portion bent back upon itself to provide a bowed spring tongue, an extruded pimple formation in the inner face of the plate portion extending toward the spring tongue providing a complemental recess on the outer face of the plate portion, and another extruded pimple formation of like size on the spring tongue lfacing away from the plate portion, whereby a pimple formation on the spring tongue of the member may enter a recess in the plate portion of another like member.

S. A contact member for an electrical connector having a contact making end and a wire receiving end, said contact making end comprising a resilient metal stamping having a plate portion bent back upon itself at one end to provide a spring tongue, said plate portion being slightly bowed toward the tongue, said spring tongue having an outwardly bowed portion and an outwardly flaring free end, said tongue being bowed for its entire length exclusive of said free end, said wire receiving end cornprising a plurality of pairs of flanges of unequal length, a pair of longer length being arranged to be wrapped around the insulation of a wire cable, and a pair of flanges of smaller length arranged for being crimped over the bared wire terminal, and a lug struck out from the material of the contact member-between the contact 

